Study: Getting wind power to Texas cities may cost ,6 billion

NoneMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 3, 2008

By Tom Fowler

Houston Chronicle

Texans may need to spend anywhere from ,2.9 billion to ,6.3 billion in the coming years to connect quickly expanding wind power projects in West Texas to more populous parts of the state, according to a study released today.

Texas is already the largest wind producer in the country, with more than 4,400 megawatts of capacity installed, or about 2 percent of the state's total power capacity.

But with large parts of West Texas considered ideal for wind development and state and federal incentives for such projects that capacity is expected to grow to as much as 24,000 megawatts.

One megawatt can power about 800 homes.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees most of the state's power grid, was asked by the Public Utility Commission to study how best to get the power to the markets that need it the most. After considering hundreds of options, ERCOT narrowed it down to five possibilities.

The least expensive would cost ,2.95 billion to accommodate up to 12,000 MW of wind power, but it's not as flexible to handle future growth as another 12,000 MW plan that would cost ,3.78 billion.

The most expensive plan would accommodate 24,800 MW of wind power and cost ,6.38 billion.

New transmission lines from West Texas wind projects would not reach Houston but most likely connect to Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. The cost of such projects would be distributed to all Texas rate payers, regardless of their locations.

The report was submitted to the Public Utility Commission, which is expected to review it in the coming weeks.